


The Stench of Death

by Jokerang (SpaceShark)



Series: Fire tests Gold [2]
Category: DC Cinematic Universe, Suicide Squad (2016)
Genre: F/M, Hints of Boomerang/Katana, Rick Flag is no fun, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-08 17:52:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7767448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceShark/pseuds/Jokerang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A boomerang expert and a Japanese vigilante rejoin Task Force X for its next mission: capture or kill the Joker and Harley Quinn. </p><p>Lighthearted Boomerang/Katana interwoven within the scope of the squad's next mission. In the same universe as "Repercussions," but can be read on its own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Suicide Squad.
> 
> I saw the movie the other day. The critics are right about a lot of things, but it's still better than BVS, and the box office is impressive. As I was writing my Batman/Wonder Woman fic, I turned to what I could do for SS. I read up on the Katana/Captain Boomerang fics (I recommend we should get a drink sometime and a spark (can set a forest on fire) for more on the couple) and decided to put it within the context of a new Task Force X mission about taking out the Joker and Harley Quinn.
> 
> This fic is set in the same timeline as Repercussions, but can be read as a stand alone (Batman won't appear, but Nightwing will).

"Lemme the fuck outta here!"

George Harkness, better known as Captain Boomerang, was standing shirtless in his dark, damp cell in Belle Reve, screaming until his lungs gave out. He was mad as hell. For the past month he'd been held in solitary confinement, despite being part of Task Force X, which had saved the world from the Midway Crisis, as the media had dubbed it.

Granted, the Suicide Squad was chock full of deniable assets. But the others had gotten rewards in prison for their efforts. Floyd was probably spending time with his daughter. Harley (who'd escaped two weeks ago) got an espresso machine. And the crocodile got himself cable TV for all his trouble.

And what did he, Captain fucking Boomerang, get? Three months of solitary confinement for bad mouthing the director of Argus. Or rather, former acting director. No one from the squad had seen Waller for months.

"Relax, bogan," said the guard outside the door, using the Australian term for redneck. "You actually have a visitor today."

"Why ya lyin' to me-"

"That's enough," said another voice, a feminine one. The guard grunted, then opened the small opening at the door.

Tatsu Yamashiro, better known by her code name of Katana, was in George's vision. She was still wearing that mask with the Japanese sun on it. _It must get pretty sweaty and musky wearing it day in and day out,_ he thought. "Katana, ya wonderful wicked warrior, you gotta get me out of here!"

Tatsu stared silently at him. The two of them had saved each other's lives a few times during the whole Midway crisis. They'd developed a begrudging admiration for each other, as a result. Despite the fact that he was clearly drunk (smuggled beer, do doubt), he showed her more respect than anyone else in Belle Reve.

"You are getting out," she said, the faint hint of a Japanese accent throughout her words. "But it's not in the way you think it'll be. Flag is putting together Task Force X again."

George's eyes widened at the chance to be outside again. "The Suicide Squad? Thank your lucky stars that it's gonna be-"

The door suddenly opened, and four riot control guards marched themselves in. One of them had a taser, and used it to make George pass out. Tatsu silently watched as the guards dragged George's unconscious body out and to the wing where the other squad members were.

Despite the fact that Captain Boomerang did everything to make himself the most hated man in the complex, Tatsu couldn't help but wonder if there was a better way to get him out of that cell.

* * *

The US military officers and intelligence officials gathered in the small conference room in a seedy hotel not far from Washington DC. It had been designated as an alternate location for meetings when the White House was busy. John Lynch, Deputy Director of Argus, stood up and shuffled his papers, notes for his Powerpoint slideshow.

"Alright everyone, let's take a seat," said Lynch. As Amanda Waller was too heavily associated with the events in Midway for the time being, Lynch was given more duties, akin to an acting director. "As you all know, Task Force X was instrumental in defeating the malevolent entity known as Enchantress during the Midway Crisis. However, we have run into several problems with the Task Force.

"Firstly, the squad was inadequate to dealing with the threat they were going against. Our reports indicate they persevered through sheer luck. They are probably better suited for deniable heists and raids rather than the jobs Superman would have been called for. Secondly, there were significant causalities. Thirty four Navy Seals acting as auxiliaries were lost, in addition to the squad's most powerful member, the pyrokinetic known as El Diablo, who was revealed to be an avatar of the Aztec fire god Xiuhtecuhtli.

"To correct these issues, I am both assigning the Task Force to a new mission to test their ability to accomplish jobs within their specialty range, as well as attaching new members to the force. Everything you need to know is in your briefing packets, but let's go over it anyways. Normally these two would not have been considered, but in this day and age, we should be taking advantage of any available assets."

The generals and intelligence agents flipped the pages to a woman with a scowl, unnaturally light blue hair, and pale skin in her mugshot. "Dr. Louise Lincoln," said Lynch. "You know her as Killer Frost. After her partner died not long after receiving cyrokinetic abilities, Lincoln tested the effects on herself, becoming ruthless and cold hearted, pun intended. She's capable of lethally absorbing heat from living beings and can project various ice and cold projectiles."

The officials turned their pages to pictures of Lynch's other recruit. The man in question was wearing a black and orange mask in most photos, and was wearing customized body armor with the same colors.

"Slade Wilson. After General Zod's attempted terraforming of Earth, a crashed ship was recovered in the heart of what was once Metropolis' financial district. Before the ship fell into the hands of Lex Luthor, Kryptonian genetic technology was uncovered, including otherworldly elements used for a Delta Force experimental serum. Slade Wilson was the first and only test subject of Project Deathstroke, for his personality was forever changed. He violently left the Army and became an elite mercenary, as he was the closest thing humanity has to a created Superman. You don't want to know what its cost to bring him back into our custody, and I am expecting your unquestioned approval of his inclusion into Task Force X."

The officials silently nodded.

"Are we clear? Good. Here is what I want to use them for. As you all know, the Joker broke into Belle Reve two weeks ago…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter. University starts again in a week, but I hope it's got more meat to it than the teaser chapter. For anyone looking out for the next chapter of Repercussions, I hope to get it down within a few days.

George woke up sometime later, in the courtyard of Belle Reve. It was pretty sunny, and he'd been zipped out of a body bag, just like before. Almost by instinct, he got up and began attacking whoever had the bad luck of getting him out.

"Enough," came the booming voice of Rick Flag, the Special Forces officer in charge of managing the Suicide Squad. George knew better than to argue with him, and let the poor sap who'd been on the receiving end of a beatdown go. "And put a shirt on, while you're at it," said Flag.

Looking around, the other three veterans of the task force were here. Floyd Lawton was inspecting a pistol, Waylon Jones picking his fangs/teeth, and Katana was talking to Flag in Japanese, which she used for privacy. He had no idea what she was saying, but the fact she kept looking at him every three seconds seemed to indicate he was the subject of the conversation.

A van with the Argus logo speeded into the courtyard, catching everyone off guard. Rick Flag looked at it with sarcastic eagerness. "Time to meet the replacements."

The first of them, a tall, middle aged man with greying hair and a small mustache and goatee, was brought out of the back of the vehicle in handcuffs. His face was one of pure disgust, as if he intended to kill everyone else.

"Everyone, say hi to Slade Wilson," said Flag. "Or should I say, Deathstroke."

"I don't give two shits about what you call me. I'm not here because I want to."

"That's everyone, pal," replied Floyd.

"Even I have better things to do than babysit dipshits," said Flag. Despite having worked with them to save Midway, he still held a certain level of contempt for the squad. "You two, bring out Ms. Lincoln. Be careful not to get frosted."

Two of the guards were required to bring in the other new member. She was let out of a large military grade freezer, and out came a woman with light blue hair and moon like skin. She was wearing a dark blue leotard, with matching knee high boots and elbow long gloves.

"The hell is this?" she asked.

"Your new home," replied Rick. "Welcome to the Suicide Squad."

Rick went over the basics, both to remind the veterans (minus Katana) and the newbies: the Suicide Squad was an off the books force composed of criminal metahumans and crooks with special talents. In exchange for time off their sentences, they received assignments from Flag. If any of them tried to escape while on mission, a small but powerful nanotech bomb in their neck could be set off at any time by Flag.

"Got it?" Rick asked. "Good. Let's get you up to date on your next mission."

While Rick had been going over the rules, George moved himself next to Tatsu. "Was the whole 'dupe him into getting a taser' your idea, love?"

"That was not my idea," she said, doing her best to assure the rugged Australian that it actually wasn't.

"Then why the hell you'd go along with it?"

"Flag. He didn't trust you to come willingly. I would not have done it that way."

"That's nice to know," he replied back with a toothy smile, revealing his gold tooth. "Who's ice queen over there?"

"Killer Frost," said Floyd. "Or rather, Louise Lincoln. Got her powers from a science experiment gone bad. Total opposite of Diablo."

Choosing Diablo over Killer Frost for the first mission made sense. While Diablo had initially refused to fight and needed some motivation, he wasn't going to actively try to cause trouble. Lincoln, on the other hand, was making sardonic comments and giving death stares to Flag. Her inclusion must have been to serve as an emergency replacement of the squad's most powerful member.

"Prove to me this injection in the back of my neck isn't a bluff," challenged Louise.

Without speaking, Flag pulled up footage from his iPad of Slipknot attempting to escape, followed by an explosion in his neck and his body hanging from the tripwire gun he was using to escape with.

"Opps, my bad," muttered George. Silly him for trying to recruit someone else in the failed getaway.

"Don't do that again," Katana said to him, staring him straight in the face.

"Of course, why bother when you're around, pretty one?" he said while raising an eyebrow.

Tatsu rolled her eyes. Croc did his best to not laugh at what was an attempt at flirting. Eventually, they all went back to focusing on Flag and the new mission.

"As you all know, two weeks ago the Joker broke into Belle Reve and took Harley Quinn with him," he began. "For those of you don't know, the Joker is one of the kingpins of the East Coast underground. He's got networks from Miami to Metropolis, and his brand of trafficking, murder, and extortion has led many to dub him the 'Crown Prince of Crime'. Now, listen to the alternate voice of God." Flag pulled his iPad again, and out came a bearded man in a suit.

"Good day. My name is John Lynch, Deputy Director of Argus. The Joker's whereabouts have been traced by us to the city of Bludhaven, New Jersey. As we can't officially take him out, I want you to infiltrate the city, find the Joker, and eliminate him at all costs. This is one of two objectives. Your other objective is to find Harley Quinn. If she refuses to come back to us willingly, deadly force is authorized."

Floyd widened his eyes. He'd already saved Harley's life once. He wondered if it might happen again.

"So," said George, to break the silence, "sounds easy peezy, huh?"

"You'd better hope so," was Rick Flag's reply.

The squad was given their weapons boxes and they heartedly dug in. Deadshot selected his signature AR-15, and picked up an Uzi and FAMAS for good measure. Croc had his knifes all lined up in a row. Killer Frost was given an ice gun that had previously belonged to a man named Victor Fries. And Slade Wilson had enough ordinance to level a small city.

As for George, he had all his boomerangs – traditional, explosive, drones, melee, and a whole lot more. He also took an MP5 from Slade for good measure, in case things got really ugly. While loading it, he noticed Tatsu had her sword out again, softly speaking to it and weeping all the way. He'd been told that the sword had the soul of her deceased husband in it, but he didn't believe it. Then again, this was a world were men could fly.

Oh well. He always had a thing for the crazy ones.

* * *

Not long after, the squad (no supporting Navy Seals this time – don't want questions being asked) embarked on their helicopter to meet their first contact in the criminal underworld. George was seated in between Katana and Slade. "What happened to get you here, mate?" he asked the super soldier.

"Believe it or not, I'm in it for the money," was his reply, an air of false enthusiasm to it.

"Really?"

"No, dumbass. Two of my children were kidnapped."

"Not another word from you, Deathstroke," snarled Rick Flag.

"Jesus," replied Digger. "I mean, most of us are pieces of shit, but did y'all really kidnap his kids to bring him on board?"

"I don't think you fully understand the situation," replied Flag. "Deathstroke was given powers that could rival Superman, and he went and used those powers for bad purposes. Thirty two counts of assassination, twenty arsons, not to mention all the disfigurements, robberies, ransoms… you name it. Two children are the least of your worries."

Slade attempted to get out and strangle Rick, but he held the iPad with the mobile detonators and began to set it to Slade's. With a humf, Slade returned to his seat, and didn't speak again. During the rest of the ride, most of the conversation among the others was dry and mostly of little interest to George, who instead attempted to talk to Katana.

"So what brings you on here? You don't have a neck bomb like the rest of us."

"Because I chose to."

"I mean, that's kind of obvious, love, but is there some reasoning behind it? Like is Flag paying you?"

She scoffed. "It's all about money to you, isn't it?"

"Oh come on, a man's gotta eat somehow?"

Tatsu was silent for a minute, and then said, "I'm here because it gives me an escape. I've read your file, and you were a member of Australian Special Forces, were you not?"

"Yep. Much better at the whole killing part than the follow-orders-or-get-kicked-out part."

"And two tours in the Middle East. The doctors said you have PTSD, which would explain your criminal and hedonistic lifestyle. It's an escape from life."

"Bollocks. Those doctors will say whatever they need to get you buying their drugs and pills." He didn't sound very convincing, however.

"Well, I believe it, judging from what I've seen from you. Anyways, I figured I could make use of my martial arts expertise on Task Force X. After the death of my husband, it's not like I have much to fight for anyways."

"Hey, don't talk like that," sharply replied Boomerang. "There's drinking, if nothing else."

"Another one of your disgusting habits."

"Hey there, it gives me a reason to get up in the morning." He gave her a big, childish pat on her shoulder. "Don't you Japs have sake? That shit's good."

The rest of their conversation wasn't anything to write home about, but George noticed that Katana wasn't all doom and gloom anymore. What the hell, he'd cheered her up, even though she'd never admit it to anyone but herself. When the helicopter settled down in Bludhaven and the squad disembarked, Katana got off without saying a word to him. But he knew she didn't hate him. Well, at least not now.

Thirty minutes later, they were at the mansion of their first contact. He was a contemporary of the Joker, and had a criminal empire not nearly as large, but big enough to cover the state. George noticed that most of them were wearing skull masks and balaclavas.

After all, this was Black Mask they were dealing with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The characterization is probably out of tune, but I hope it works to you guys. There really wasn't that much from the movie to work with, so I hope it's all in character in your minds. Remember to comment and let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey again everyone! Due to school, I'm probably make the chapters for this story a little bit shorter (say, 1500 words or such) from hereon out. I hope they're still enjoyable.

Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask, was sitting at his desk when Deatshot, Boomerang, and Katana walked into his mansion. As part of the mission, Floyd was to supposed to lure Black Mask in to get him where he could reveal when and where Joker was going to be the next day and plan to take him out. Black Mas was wearing a skull mask made of black marble, matched by a cream suit, pants, and tie. "Welcome back, Floyd."

"Pleasure's all mine." Floyd had done business with Black Mask before. Or so he'd told George. The three of them were posing as mercenaries with a job offer from Deadshot. "Say, I heard you had a new job opening? Me and my friends were interested."

"Really?" Roman's mask didn't allow for any emotions to show through, but his voice revealed interest. "You wanna storm GCPD with your friends?"

"We got this, mate," George, not very convincingly.

"Fine," said Black Mask, motioning for eight guards to get in a circle around the three. "If you can beat all my men right here and now, then we'll talk jobs."

"What is this?" asked Floyd, annoyed. "Cheerleading tryouts?"

"Something like that."

"Bloody hell," said George, back behind Tatsu as each drew their weapons. These men were heavily armored and had machine pistols. Hopefully the other Task Force members had an easier time with their respective parts of the operation. Their job was to wipe out, so to speak, the rest of Black Mask's goons while the three of them kept the boss distracted.

The guards looked at each other. Some of them were smug on their faces, while others had looks of complete fear. After a few awkward seconds, one of them decided to charge at Katana. It was a fatal mistake, for she struck him down in one blow of Soultaker. The rest of the men charged a split second later, but Deadshot was ready for them, cutting three down with a few bullets.

As for Boomerang, he did his own thing. A masked thug swung a crowbar at him. George dodged it and swung his boomerang back, taking a fair amount of the man's mask and face with it. In the same stroke, George plunged the blade into another man's chest. The last henchman had then grabbed George by the back, threatening to slam him to the ground and end him there.

The man was raising his rifle as a club. Then he stopped, eked out a few words in pain, then dropped to the ground, dead. Katana had stabbed him in the nick of time.

"Thanks, love," said George, feeling somewhat lucky.

With all the henchmen dead or wounded, Black Mask began pressing a panic button on his desk. "Situation, goddamnit! Get your asses here now!"

"Too late for that," said the cold voice of Slade Wilson. "Your backup crew, all thirty of them, are dead."

"What the fuck-"

Roman was pinned to the desk by Deadshot as Slade kicked down the back door, holding a few severed limbs in his arms. Killer Frost and Flag followed him, while Croc covered the door. "Call it a hostile takeover," said Rick.

"You son of a bitch, you'll never-"

"Blah blah blah," said Flag, taking over from Deadshot. "I'm going to ask some questions and you'll answer them. Don't give me the answers I want, and my friends will make sure you die in this chair. Understood?"

"You can go f-"

"I'd be careful," said Floyd, pressing one of the wrist guns to his forehead.

"Atta boy," said Flag as Black Mask slumped. Rick took over the interrogation. "Tell us where the Joker is."

"How would I know? I have my own boys to take care of-"

"We know you stole a highly advanced chip from WayneTech and planted it on his jacket during a meeting with him," said Katana.

"Prove it."

Flag pulled out some papers and began tossing them out one by one on Roman's mask. "Look familiar?"

"How the hell are you in my emails?"

"We're the US government. You people are irrelevant to us."

"Then why am I still alive?" asked Black Mask.

"Because you still might have your uses. Boomer, Katana, take an arm each and hold him down. This is going to hurt."

George and Tatsu did just that, Roman Sionis kicking and screaming the entire way. Rick Flag rolled up his uniform sleeves and got to work.

* * *

Dick Grayson found the target ledge he needed for Bludhaven's best view, so he pulled out the correct tool from his belt and launched it to the ledge, gliding up there in a matter of seconds. Barbara Gordon was waiting there, in her imitation suit of Batman.

"Hey Babs," he said quickly, kissing her just as fast. "You said it was kind of urgent?"

"That's an understatement." Barbara had just been the daughter of GCPD Commissioner James Gordon until she began to admire Batman and through a long struggle, ended up being trained by him. Along the way she met Dick Grayson, Bruce's de facto son. "You remember those Suicide Squad files?"

"I do. Why? Didn't Bruce get everything he needed from Waller?"

"Everything except a promise the Stupid Squad wouldn't be used again. Look at this." Barbara showed him some pictures from her phone. They showed two vans with the words 'Belle Reve' faintly scrapped off.

"Not a coincidence? Like a prisoner transfer or something?"

"Belle Reve is located in Louisiana, and prisoners only go there, not the opposite way. It's got to be the Squad. Maybe they aren't going for covert?"

"Who knows," said Dick. "Could be anything. Let's go to where you last saw the vans. You lead the way."

"Whatever you say," remarked Barbara as she glided down to the nearest skyscraper.

* * *

By the time Rick Flag was done with Roman, his mask was long gone. His face wasn't looking much better. But they had gotten what they had needed.

"Joker's planning to leave for Gotham at the end of the week," said Flag to the rest of the Squad. "He could be using any of the three bridges that connect Bludhaven and Gotham. We'll plan lookouts for all three bridges and operations to coordinate an attack on his convoy when it arrives."

"What will the convoy look like?" asked Slade.

"Five vans of with various Joker owned front companies on the sides. He'll be in the front vehicle, along with presumably Harley and his top henchmen."

"How many in total?" asked George. He wasn't terribly interested in another endless fight. "Ninja and I here don't exactly enjoy the whole fighting shiz."

Katana was going to say something, but Rick stopped her. "Probably fifty at least, if not more. There's a reason we're using metahumans and not more Seals."

Rick went over some of the other details, including harassing the other organized crime groups in Bludhaven, and then said, "I'm handing Sionis over to Bludhaven police. Katana will take you to a pre-arranged hotel. Leave, and your neck comes clean off."

"Sounds exciting love," said George half seriously as he made a half hearted attempt to brush a strand of Tatsu's hair.

"Don't touch me."

"If you really wanted that, I'd have a sword in my stomach by now."

"No, it's because you're more valuable alive than dead."

* * *

Griggs awoke, this time in a bedroom. Not just any bedroom, however: this one had to be Harley's. At least that was what it looked like from the jester outfits on one side and the hammer and machine guns laying on a table on the other.

After being roughed up by the Joker himself for information on the Suicide Squad, Griggs had been kept around as a curiosity by the Joker's men. He did know he was in Bludhaven, for unknown reasons. Probably business Crown Prince of Crime had in the city. Oddly, enough, he wasn't manhandled again unless the Joker himself was present. Which meant one of two things: the Joker had taken a liking to Griggs, or he was saving him for something far worse.

Griggs was betting on the latter. He knew what the Joker was capable of.

While trying to find a way to get out of the chair he was tied up in, the doors burst open and two of the Joker's men, dressed in suits and wearing masks with nothing more than shark teeth on them, walked in and stood on each side of Griggs. Coming up next was the Joker himself in his signature purple trenchcoat, and Harley, wearing a more modern outfit that kept traces of the red and black jester.

"Ah, puddin', you kept him all alive and in one piece just for me?" Harley squealed.

"All yours," said Joker. "Consider it an early birthday present."

Harley picked up her hammer, which was customized to include several blades and blunt ends, and whacked Griggs in the head.

But of course, with Harley Quinn, that was never the only thing she did.


End file.
